High street broker Swinton Insurance is shutting down its Widnes office as part of a bigger restructuring plan that will reduce its branch network to 60%.
 
The firm’s Widnes branch will close its doors for good on October 29, affecting four staff members, according to a report by Liverpool Echo.
 
A company spokesman said customers were informed of the looming closure and that they can still obtain service from Swinton’s branch in Warrington and through the broker’s contact centre and online platform.
 
“We are investing in our network of high street branches to create a smaller number of more efficient branches and a modern contact centre,” the spokesman told Liverpool Echo, reiterating an earlier statement.
 
“These changes reflect how our customers choose to engage with us,” the spokesman added.
 
Swinton announced in March that it will close 130 of 325 high street branches across the UK by the middle of 2017. The company had said that the “priority” was to redeploy the majority of affected employees to other areas of the business, the Liverpool Echo reported.
 
According to a report by This is Money, declining footfall and changing requirements of customers caused the branch closures.
 
“Swinton will continue to have more branches on the high street than any other insurance broker and we are testing new branch formats to enhance the customer experience within the communities we serve,” the financial news website quoted chief executive Gilles Normand as saying.
 
Swinton is relocating 1,000 employees to its new headquarters in Salford, Greater Manchester, which is expected to be completed this month.
 
“The move to a new site is a milestone in our drive towards a bold and modern Swinton by re-shaping the way that we work,” Normand previously told Manchester Evening News.
 
 
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